Thursday, June 28, 2012

Elena Belle Pickett


On May 4, 2012, Elena Belle Pickett was born. She weighed 9 lbs 9 ounces and she was about 21 inches long.

Her delivery was pretty smooth and without much incident although there were several differences from her birth then that of her sisters. First of all, she was born in Flower Mound Texas, the first of my children to not be born in Birmingham, Alabama. Elena was born at Flower Mound Presbyterian Hospital.  I was originally scheduled to be induced on May 2, but my doctor asked to change it to the 4th so she could go to some conference. I was not really thrilled since I was more than ready to have Elena out and my mom was flying in on the 2nd. It turned out okay. I was able to have a day with my mom before Elena came and that was nice. Plus she was already there to watch my other munchkins while I was in the hospital.

Anyhow, I was scheduled to be at the hospital at 7 am to start the induction. I had a fairly restless sleep on the 3rd, and at 5:30am my water broke. I had never had my water break at home before, it's always been broken by the doctor in the hospital. So this was a new experience. I liked it way better breaking on its own. I was able to run to the bathroom and get it all taken care of without causing to much of a mess (unlike at the hospital).  I was also able to take it easy for the next hour. I had some hot chocolate and Brett and I got everything gathered together to get to the hospital. I didn't realize it at the time. . .but I started labor and began having contractions. That made everything go faster at the hospital than with my other kids.

When I got to the hospital and got all signed in and hooked up, the nurse told me I was having a contraction and asked if I could feel it. I couldn't. I really didn't start feeling them until the pitocen was going strong--they started the pitocen at about 8ish. For the record, I did pass out when they put my IV in but this nurse wrapped it up so well I was still able to use my left arm a little. She was an awesome, very understanding nurse.

The weirdest part of the labor was that they weren't giving out demerol because of some nationwide shortage. When I asked for something to help "take the edge off" they asked if they could give me something different instead.  I don't remember what they gave me, but I remember getting really dizzy. They gave me the drug at about 9:40ish and I had to lay down until after Elena was born at 10:30. It made my thoughts really sluggish. I would try to ask Brett for something and I had to think about it for a long time before I could actually say it. That was really frustrating. (Luckily I didn't need much, just the occasional ice chip or for him to tell me when my contraction was at its peak. For some reason that really helped me breath through it.) Luckily the drug wore off when I started pushing. . .or my adrenaline overpowered it so much that I didn't feel its weird effects anymore. Anyway, the nurse didn't stay with us in the room during this labor (at UAB, a nurse was in the room with us pretty much for the entire time.) and she told Brett to come and get her when I felt like pushing. At about 10:20ish I felt like pushing. Brett went and got the nurse who checked me out and started getting me ready. She called for the doctor and team of L/D nurses. My doctor was involved with a life and death operation of another patient so another doctor was able to come up and help out. After about 5 good pushes, Elena came out and into the world.

I was happy that Elena came before noon because fairly soon after the labor they brought me (and Brett) lunch and it was delicious!! After a few hours (during which they were cleaning up Elena and making sure I was all good to go) they took out my IV (another difference from UAB where they left it in for at least 24 more hours) and shipped me over to the recovery room. The recovery was very comfortable. They not only brought a plate of food for me at each meal but also one for Brett. It was really nice that he didn't have to go home or out to pick up some food. He could just rest in the room with Elena and me.  They also had a snack room which the patients could help themselves to. Once I learned about this. . .I drank my fill of juice and milk and ate lots of applesauce and pudding. :)

That afternoon my mom brought Emmeline, Mabel and Madelyn to the hospital to visit. They were SO excited to meet Elena. They each took a quick turn holding her and we visited for awhile. . .but then I was ready for them to go. 15 minutes with them there and I was worn out. Man can those kids talk and wiggle. (I sure love them though).


I was all ready to go home the next evening. Yes, they let me out the next day. They would have let me stay one more night, but Elena was given the all clear and I was ready to be home. This was something else very different than each of my 3 previous deliveries. Because of blood incompatibility issues, my first 3 daughters each had super high billiruben. Enough that they were in the "danger" zone and had to be placed on light beds and stay in the hospital for a night longer than me. Elena, however, I guess was more compatible with me and she didn't have any problems. It was so nice to not have to worry in the hospital and to be able to take my baby home when I left.

Before we left, the hospital made a special "celebration" dinner for us. They rolled in a table with a tablecloth, served a special menu (chicken cordon bleu, steak, or salmon), and brought lots of cake. It was kinda fun and I think a highlight for the girls.


I was a little scared to try a new hospital but it turned out great and I am so happy to have another healthy, beautiful baby girl in my family.

                                                  


Sunday, June 24, 2012

Return to Blog

I notice that my last post was a year ago. Almost to the day. . .plus a couple of weeks. One might assume that this means nothing of import happened to my family this past year. One would be wrong in this assumption. This past year has not only been filled with many fun adventures and new experiences, it has also been a life changer for my family. The last time I wrote, back in June 2011, I had three beautiful daughters, Brett was involved in a Post-Doc at UT South Western, and I lived in a cozy apartment in Flower Mound Texas. Today as I write, in June 2012, I have FOUR beautiful daughters, Brett is done with "school" and has a "real" job at J. Craig Venter Institute in San Diego, and I live in a cozy apartment in Poway California.

I have a list of excuses for why I stopped blogging last year but those excuses are all gone and it is time that I start recording some of our family adventures again. Hopefully, I'll even get a chance to back track and record some of the big things that happened to us last year. :) So here we are -- back to the blog!!